Organisation: Department of Human Services
Job Title: Project Officer/Business Analyst
Word Limit: 2 pages maximum
Location: Parramatta
Supports Strategic Direction
In addition to my current role as Service Officer, I have acted on numerous occasions as the Team Leader in my
area. These stints have been for six months, 4-5 months and a couple of weeks respectively and during this time I
have demonstrated my ability to support strategic direction. Specifically, recently I brought the team together to
discuss the issue of unscheduled absences from work, which had risen to levels which the organisation was
concerned about. I gave the team an understanding of the impact this was having on productivity and the ability
to strategically plan ahead with our work. In tackling this situation, I asked for the team’s input in how we could
reduce this number and ensure our productivity was maximised as a result. We brainstormed ideas and I
gathered and collated these ideas to plan for a reduction in these types of absences if possible.
After the brainstorming sessions, I met with each staff member individually to gain more insight into issues they
might be having that I could possibly assist with. This too, gave me information and ideas to use in combatting the
issue. As a result of my meetings, I came up with a few simple but effective ideas, including a wall leave chart
which outlined how we were tracking for unplanned leave and a chart of how we compared to other teams on
site. This idea, along with others made a measureable difference to unscheduled leave and brought us into line
with organisational expectations, whilst demonstrated my understanding and support of the organisation’s
strategic direction.
Achieves Results
Within my Service Officer role, I am measured against 5 benchmarks of service in relation to child support
payment arrangements. In the measurement of these benchmarks, I have achieved a 5 out of 5 rating, which
means I have achieved one of the best results that can be achieved in this role. Part of the reason for my success
is in the way I deal with customers who are responsible for paying child support and in my explanation to them of
not only what they are required to pay, but also, the repercussions to them if they choose not to make the
payments. This approach, whilst sometimes confronting for the customer, means they are in full understanding of
their position, their options and the benefits of making the correct payments. This in turn ensures they are more
likely to comply.
The required outcome for payment arrangements within my team is 10 payments per week, roughly equating to
300 arrangements per year. Within the last year, I have made 430 payment arrangements, sitting well above the
expected level. I have been proactive in achieving this result through ensuring my in-tray is dealt with and having
a definite plan each and every day about what I would like to achieve, based on the work available. Recently, a
customer called who wasn’t aware of some of the options available to him in terms of payment arrangements. He
had been a payer of child support payments for 15 years and there were some aspects of his arrangement he
thought were unfair. By informing this customer of his options as per guidelines, he was very thankful and was
able to gain a formal assessment which determined how his arrangement should be set up given his current
position. The customer was very pleased that he was able to have some say over his requirements and he got the
result he was looking for.
Supports Productive Working Relationships
In my current role, I liaise across other teams, particularly when transferring calls to them to deal with. The best
demonstration of my ability to engage in productive working relationships was during my role as Team Liaison
Officer, working within the online team. During this role, I was responsible for working closely with the project
team to ensure feedback from customers was passed on, to inform changes or enhancements to the online
system for customers. This was successful due to my built relationships with the project team, the Project
Manager and Team Leaders to ensure information was disseminated and collated appropriately. Through this
feedback process, macros were developed which assisted the online team to respond to customers appropriately
and in a consistent manner and enhanced productivity as a result.
Displays personal drive and integrity
Within my APS4 role, I have performed as a mentor on numerous occasions for new APS3 staff coming into the
team. With a new starter team, I was responsible for guiding four APS3 staff through the work they were required
to learn and ensuring they were working effectively. There are a number of ways this could have been done,
however I chose to have the APS3 staff engage in their roles through working their own way through the Child
Support Guide, and the online processes and procedures, to ensure they not only learnt the system, but also
understood why the job was done in a particular fashion. I was there for support and guidance if there was
anything that wasn’t understood after reading these resources and this team became technically sound and
knowledgeable in their roles in a reasonably short timeframe. As a motivated and energetic person, I have a
passion for doing things the right way and in encouraging others to follow suit. I have had positive feedback from
my Team Leader and Manager and am very keen to take on a new and challenging role within the organisation
such as this.
Communicates with Influence
Within my current role, I communicate effectively with customers over the phone and work within the APS Code
of Conduct, respecting individual differences and adapting my communication style depending on the customers
understanding, English language skills, background and culture. I like to give the customer all of their options in
their individual circumstances and ensure they are aware of what they can and cannot do. This also applies within
my team and during one of my roles as Team Leader I was confronted with a situation where I needed to
communicate with some influence.
One of the female team members within the team I was leading was heard to have used inappropriate language
with a customer and was also heard by me directly using this type of language within the office. This woman was
a good employee and liked to ensure she worked efficiently, however this behaviour was clearly unacceptable, so
I met with her to discuss it. I explained a few points including that her calls were all being recorded and then
recounted a story to her of another employee who thought they had terminated a call, but where the customer
was still on the line and heard her talking negatively about her, bringing a significant complaint to the team.
Either way, I communicated to the staff member that there was no good outcome of using this type of language,
and that it needed to be confined to outside of the office. The woman came around to accepting this information
and assured me she would curb her language from then on, which she has done so far.
Demonstrated program/project management skills and experience in a contact centre and/or telephony
services environment
Having extensive and current experience within a Department of Human Services telephony contact centre
environment, I have excellent skills in this role and a strong understanding of the regulations and standards
required to be successful. This has been demonstrated through my high rating across quality and quantity of
payment arrangements for child support, my considerable Team Leader roles, and my commitment to upholding
the APS Code of Conduct and values. I have demonstrated project management skills in numerous ways, including
in the successful aforementioned unscheduled leave chart development and consultation process as well as
working successfully within my team to delivery on budget and government initiatives which come through.
Knowledge of project management in a contact centre and/or telephony services environment
One specific project I worked on was during my time within the online team where there was no initial structure
or guidelines on how to respond to customers should they have enquiries or issues working in the online system.
With the Project Team, we documented and collated the process, streamlined it and created a range of macros
which generate the response for the contact officer to use with customers in different scenarios. Over the course
of 4 weeks, this project went through the process of drafting and testing of macro responses to ensure they were
appropriate and user friendly before being implemented across the team. Before this streamlining and macro
generation was implemented, there were around 300 in-tray messages waiting to be actioned at any one time.
Through the project, we were able to reduce that by up to 40%, a significant improvement and time saver, and
one that made a significant positive impact on customers.
Skills in advanced data manipulation and excel with strong attention to detail
Although having limited data management roles in my current job, during my role as a Business Banker with the
National Australia Bank, my role did require a large amount of information management. In determining the
result of loan applications for business clients, my role was to collect, calculate and analyse a large amount of
data from the client, input this into our system and make a recommendation about their status as a result. In
addition, I have undertaken formal learning in the use of data and excel within my Master of Business
Administration course. This course gave me the foundations of business administration and a strong
understanding of the importance of data and accuracy within that to be successful.
